When was the last time he had the chance to sit down to read a newspaper? It had to be years ago, maybe during the early years of Overwatch, before they started the recruiting effort. Life was too busy for him to get enough time to read through a single article. Usually Cayde or his assistant would let him know if there was something he needed to be concerned about. Otherwise, it was a waste of time. So to sit down outside a cafe while reading a newspaper wasn't something Jack was familiar with at all, not even before he enlisted in the army.

It felt like a perfect day. The skies were clear. It was just cold enough that it was comfortable to go outside wearing a jacket or coat. The air was clean, which was surprise. And there wasn't much noise to complain about. All in all, it was a strange experience for someone that had a chaotic life for most of his life like Jack. Even while in Nepal, things weren't this perfect. But it wasn't as if he was wasting his time with the newspaper. No, there was a reason for him to read it, and more importantly, to be outside a coffeeshop in big city in Germany.

Less than sixteen hours prior, Mondatta had informed him, Ana, and Zenyatta of some reports on an old Bastion unit being sighted in the forest near Eichenwald. The town had been abandoned shortly after the end of the Omnic Crisis, making it a go-to spot for urban explorers. The problem was, these explorers had close calls with the alleged combat omnic. All the reports had been filled by the Stuttgart Police Department, but the claims were never investigated much further than the outskirt of the forest. The police concluded that the sightings were likely the imagination of the people given the number of non-active Basiton units that still littered the area. Mondatta, though, thought that where there was smoke, there would be fire. Given that his mission was to make peace between humans and omnics, he wanted the Bastion unit to be brought back to Nepal to be taught the ways of peace in an effort to prevent any further incidents with humans. Given that the only ones with combat experience against omnics, or any at all for that matter, were Jack and Ana, they were pushed to take on the task while Zenyatta would provide support from Nepal.

Neither Jack nor Ana were foolish enough to go out there and galavanting around. Their faces were too well known to spent more time outside than what was absolutely necessary. The two of them had to come up with disguises that would keep attention off of them. For Jack, it was easy. He hadn't shaved his beard nor gotten his usual hair cut since he woke up in the monastery. Add to that the scars, optics, and the broken nose and it would fool most people. But in case they weren't fooled by that, Yera and Susan provided him with what they insisted was a "perfect disguise". Maybe it worked too, because it made Jack feel like an ass. Wayfarer sunglasses, a flat cap, a big scarf, and a wool trench coat. He was half sure they were pulling his leg when they brought it all to him and then told him that it suited him, but he had no choice than to go with it considering he didn't have any clothes back there that would work as a disguise—he always did favor comfort and practicality over style.

Jack was on edge. Ever since he sat down, he'd been hearing a small group of people talking about him. Or at least he assumed they were talking about him. Not taking more German lessons from Reinhardt was something he was regretting. He was sure they noticed him, at the very least. Their eyes would turn to him every now and again, but would turn away after a few seconds, likely pretending they weren't looking. He would glance back at them from behind his shades too, without any of them noticing. No one in the group looked particularly dangerous. But since when did only dangerous people carry guns with them? Lena had to be one of the least-dangerous looking people out there, and she always carried two pistols with her in those inconvenient arm holsters of hers.

"You look thoughtful," said Ana as she approached him from behind. Now, she actually looked good in her disguise. The long hair she always left hanging loosely down her back had been braided. Her tattoo was gone thanks to the magic of makeup. She also wore a hat, though hers was more of a loose beanie, another of Susan's ideas. Susan thought it would be fun if they both wore matching scarfs too... Overall, Ana looked beautiful in a different way than she usually did with her uniform. She sat to his right on the square table, plopping down a cardboard cup of coffee in front of Jack. "Seen anything yet?"

"Eight o'clock," he told her as he lifted the cup. Coffee, black. She took a sip of her tea and looked in the direction Jack called. "They've been talking about me for a while now. I'm not sure what they are on about. Got any idea what 'dilf' means? Never heard Reinhardt say that before."

Ana slowly parted her lips from her cup, setting it down on the table as she stared at Jack. Her face was blank, but as the seconds ticked it changed into more of a smirk. "That's a word I never thought I would hear anyone use to describe you," she said, shaking her head. "You can't be serious. You've never heard that word being used before?"

When Jack's only response was lifting an eyebrow, she sighed. She started fixing his tie suddenly, which was strange, but Jack didn't necessarily mind it. What surprised him was when she pulled him by it towards her. Her lips always made him go crazy, even if it a single kiss. This one lasted for a few seconds. There was nothing much to it, it was just a chaste kiss, but when they separated, she smiled cockily at him before turning to look at the group of people that had been watching him. She smiled at them and even waved before whispering in his ear. "I'll show you what it means," she said as she stood up and extended a hand towards him. "We should go."

They'd found a cheap lodging near the outskirt of the city. It was a building that didn't stand out more than it was necessary. No questions asked, cash only. It was perfect. And that's where the two of them ended up. They were just outside the door when Ana lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and running her hands through his hair as she ravaged his lips. It was something they hadn't done in a long time, but they fell naturally into a pace they were both comfortable with. Jack struggled getting the door open, and was thankful there was no one around to see them like that.

With the door closed behind them, clothes began to hit the floor. Their hats, their matching scarfs, and their coats were quickly discarded, neither of them separating more than a second to do so before continuing their kiss. Instead of going through the trouble of unbuttoning his shirt, Jack pulled it all over his head once the first two buttons were undone, throwing it to a side before Ana pushed him on the bed.

"If this is what a dilf is, I like it," Jack teased as he threw his sunglasses onto the nightstand, eliciting a laugh from Ana. When she straddled him, that was when he knew she wasn't kidding around with where things were going. In a swift move, she took off her blouse and threw it over to the increasing pile of clothes on the floor. For a moment neither of them moved, Jack enjoying the view. The pale brassiere she was wearing contrasted nicely with her sun-kissed skin. The scars on her body, though not as many as his, still showed her years in the military. He'd seen them all before. He'd even seen her getting most of them. Ana was a soldier. There were also some stretch marks around her abdomen. Those he also knew where they came from. Ana was a mother. And though all these imperfections on her skin would normally be seen as ugly, Jack loved them because they showed that this wasn't a girl, but a woman well grown. Even in her early fifties, women half her age would be lucky if they looked anything near as good as she did.

Jack laid his hands on her thighs, running them over ever so slowly up until he went over her hips and then her waist. He pulled her down to him, to feel those lips of hers again. She closed her eyes and so did he. There was nothing chaste about this kiss. It was raw passion. One of his hands travelled up her back, leaving behind it a small trail of goosebumps on her skin as he reached the strap of her— The sound of the communication device they'd been given by Zenyatta went off. Jack mentally cursed the omnic for his timing. They could ignore him, pretend they didn't notice or weren't in the room when it went off. For a moment it seemed like Ana was thinking the same thing as she continued kissing Jack, but after a few seconds, they both knew that they would have to stop.

"We'll call him back after," Jack said in disappointment when she sat back on his lap, looking at the computer on the desk. She looked between him and the computer a couple of times, as if she was trying to see if the ringing would stop, but when it didn't, she got off of him. Jack let out a frustrated grunt.

"You should be used to it by now, Jack," said Ana, who'd already picked up her blouse and was walking over to the computer. "It just like old times, no? We can continue where we left off after we deal with this."

Jack would've been more pleased by it all if she hadn't said those last words. Ana wasn't stupid. She must've caught onto his silence. The silence between the two was almost as deafening as the ringing of the comm. Without a word, Jack stood up and walked over to the computer too. She'd already taken a sit on the chair, so that left him to be the one standing on the side. Before Ana could say anything to him—and it looked like she wanted to—Jack answered the call.

The holoscreen switched to a live video of Zenyatta, who was sitting by his lonesome self. He looked between Jack and Ana for a second before asking, "am I interrupting something?"

"Yes, actually." Ana was one to always joke around to alleviate situations. Zenyatta had to know what was going on in there between the two ex-operatives given Jack's missing shirt and their disheveled hair. "We were just having a little—"

"It's fine, Zenyatta," Jack interrupted. "We haven't found out much on our end yet. We know of an approximate area where the Bastion unit could be, but it'll take some time to find it with just the two of us working on it. Any luck on your end?"

"...Yes. I was able to track down a signal matching those transmitted by Bastion units during the Omnic Crisis as you suggested. It seems that our Bastion has made a home out of what is left of Eichenwald, but I can not pinpoint it's exact location. We do not know for how long Bastion has been there for either. We must assume that it has resupplied its ammunition and is ready for combat once again."

"Understood. Try to get a better reading on its location. Last thing I want is to go in there and be caught with my pants down my ankles, especially with no way to defend ourselves."

"Very well, Seventy-Six. I will call back once I have done so."

"You do that." With another press of the button, the call ended and the holoscreen went blank. Jack took the opportunity to walk back to the bed. He sat down with a thud, the springs on the old mattress squeaking under his weight. He knew what was coming, so he wanted to get over with it as soon as possible. They'd been back together for well over a year, and yet, they'd never talked about the elephant in the room, despite it being so huge. Ignoring it made it possible for them to pretend they stood on the same ground they once did. A time that seemed so far away now. But things had changed. No longer were they the same people that they were back then. She wasn't Ana Amari, but Janina Kowalska. He wasn't Jack Morrison, but a man with no better name for himself other than a number.

He ran his hands down his face as he hunched over. They would need to get things out in the open now. He could see that the same thought was running through Ana's mind. She had her side leaning on the back of the chair, her face pointing in his direction, but her eye avoiding him like the plague.

"Those were the exact same words you last said to me back then," he began, their eyes finally meeting. "And I mean me, not your Strike-Commander. We were in your quarters when the call came for the mission. You left the room saying those exact same words, not giving me an answer."

"I'd told you about everything that had been on my mind. How I couldn't stand going into the battlefield anymore. How each life I took killed me a little more inside," she looked down for a second, her lips pressed together hard before smiling slightly. "You told me that you had a good solution for me to get out of the battlefield. You got on your knee, pulled out a ring, and proposed. If we married, I would be moved from working under you and removed from the field. I would still help train our snipers, but it would give me peace of mind, or so you said."

"I proposed to you for the third time," he corrected. "The first time around, you said 'yes', even wore the ring for a few days. Didn't even get the chance to tell the others about it before I was given command of Overwatch, and you gave me back the ring and walked away. What was it you said again? 'The world needs Jack Morrison and Ana Amari more than Jack and Ana Morrison'? Think that's about how you put it."

There was no malicious intent behind his words. Ana even chuckled a little bit. "That does sound like me."

"The second time was when you told me you were pregnant. I was shocked to hear it. We'd were more careful about it back then than during the Omnic Crisis. Didn't see it coming. But I was a little glad too. I was selfish and always wanted a family of my own. But when I proposed, your answer was 'it's not yours' and you walked away again." He could hear how her breathing hitched. One of her hands had slowly gone up to her good eye, covering it. "I couldn't blame anyone but myself for it. How could I blame you? We were never officially going out. I remember Reyes and even Reinhardt calling me old-fashioned for pinning after you so hard. I still hoped, though… When Fareeha was born, I tried to see any trace of myself in her, but found nothing. She got everything all her looks from you, that's for sure."

"And you treated her very well. Maybe better than a father would their child…"

"It was hard at first. I couldn't bring myself to look at her for too long. But who can be cold or distant to a doe-eyed child like her? I just gave in, in the end. She hadn't done anything wrong either. I couldn't bring myself to not love her too… Even after you...disappeared, I tried my best to be there for her. We all did. It wasn't easy. She blamed me as much as she blamed you for what happened. Said I should've done more for you. For two years, she didn't talk to me. But after she started speaking to me again, she would try to call every week. I was pretty happy about it too. It was like—"

"She's your daughter, Jack." He stopped to look at her, not sure if his ears were failing him now. His jaw hung low as he processed what she'd just said. Ana gave him a sad and longing smile in return. "Who's else could it be? You weren't the only one old-fashioned, you know. When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I had to tell you. But then, I realised that with both of us as her parents, there would be certain things expected out of her that I did not want for her. She would be forced to walk the same path we did, feeling that she needed to follow on our footsteps. I grew up like that too. With parents that are in the military comes the idea that you must do the same. We worked so hard for peace, Jack. We dedicated our lives to it. I did not want her to have to do the same. And besides… the world needed Strike-Commander Jack Morrison and Sub-Commander Ana Amari, not Jack, Ana, and Fareeha Morrison…"

Jack sat up before his back gave out, making him fall back first on the bed. He massaged his temples. Fareeha was his daughter...? Had Ana told Mondatta about it? That would explain what he'd said to Jack when he first woke up. The soldier wasn't sure how to take the news. On the one hand, he was happy that the girl he'd taken care of was his own. He'd always been proud of her and the woman she became. It also went to show that Ana cared enough about him and what they had before. But on the other, how much had he missed of Fareeha growing up because he didn't know sooner? The girl was tormented by not knowing who her father was when she was younger. He didn't get a chance to experience many things fathers are supposed to, nor help Ana more with being a parent.

"I need a drink," he muttered, mostly to himself, gently massaging his temples. He couldn't see Ana's expression anymore from that angle, which he was glad for. Too bad they didn't have anything for him to drink in there but water. He'd even finished his coffee before they entered the building. Not that it mattered. The artificial liver he'd gotten and whatever he was injected with during the enhancement program would keep him from feeling anything more than a light buzz. "Does Fareeha know?"

"She… suspected as much when she was younger. She told me that she'd seen us kissing a few times. I wanted to tell her the truth, I really did, Jack. But she was a child. She would run up to you, calling you 'father'. We would be forced to retire for maintaining an illicit relationship. So I told the the same lie I told you back then…"

"At least I got to watch her grow," he said. "Most wouldn't get that chance..."

"You should be angry. You should be yelling… Why are you so calm about this?"

"There is no point in getting angry about the past. It won't change anything."

"You've been talking with Zen too much."

Jack shrugged. "He tries his best to teach me what he can, when I'm not being stubborn." He was thankful to the omnic for that. If he'd heard the news before that, his reaction would have been very different, he gathered. Ana not telling his this sooner was definitely selfish of her, but it wasn't as if he didn't understand her reasoning. Not only that, but the US government would be too interested in her too, and not for her military career. There hadn't been any other cases of Enhanced Soldiers having children, mainly because most of those soldiers died too young. But if someone found about Fareeha… Jack shuddered at the thought. "You made the right choice, Ana. I may not like it, but it was best for Fareeha that I'm not her father."

The bed lowered slightly as Ana joined him in bed. Her upper half was hovering over him with her hands laying flat against the mattress just over his shoulders. She was analyzing him with her amber eye as he did the same with his electric blue optics. That was one of the only times since before the Omnic Crisis that he didn't know what she was thinking. He couldn't read her at all. He suddenly wished he could see her tattoo again, as if that would help him read into her expression better.

"It's not too late, Jack," her voice was soothing. No longer did she seem to be in pain. She was trying to extend an olive branch of sorts, to see where they stood. It was risking to communicate with anyone from their previous lives. It could put them in danger.

"You want to tell Fareeha?" he asked for confirmation.

"I can send her a letter, explaining everything. It may take her some time to understand everything, but she will know the truth. Your parents too. We've are getting old, Jack. Our better days are past us. If we wait too long, we could miss the opportunity."

A letter made sense. If sent correctly, it would be untraceable so long as it wasn't intercepted. But then, who would be looking for a letter anymore? Everything was done online. More convenient that way, even if it left behind a trail that was easily trackable. A letter…

"I also meant your proposal," she continued, making Jack rise slightly in confusion. "Three times you proposed to me. I never said no. That last time you proposed? I wanted to go on one last mission to confirm what I felt. Had things turned out better… I don't want to let the chance slips past me again, especially after we've postponed it for so lon—"

Jack couldn't hold himself back anymore. He twisted them around so that she would be the one under him. She only smiled at him as he was now the one looking down at her, not surprised in the slightest by the action. He pressed his lips against hers, enjoying the way she kissed him back and wrapped her hands around his neck once more. He broke off from the kiss only for a second to say, "I don't have the ring on me."

She snickered. "Like I care." She pulled him back down to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her blouse just like he had done before. The movement was too slow for her. She ended up taking it off herself. But history had a strange way of repeating itself. Not sooner had the blouse touched the ground than the comm started ringing again. Jack gave an annoyed growl as he tried his best to ignore it. But as the seconds passed and it kept on ringing, it was getting harder to ignore it. He pulled back enough to turn to look at the damn thing on the desk, but Ana pulled him back down to her. "Ignore it. We'll call him back after"